spam posts

Evildoing Spammers Discover TinyURL and Other URL-Shorteners

by Lee Bains — Jul 9th 2009 at 6:24AM

Twitter is no stranger to spam, so it shouldn't be of any great surprise that spammers are hitting one of tweeters' favorite utilities. According to the New York Times' Bits blog, URL-shortening services like TinyURL and Bit.ly have unintentionally provided spammers with a veil to cover the ugly face of their shady activities.

By copy-and-pasting a Web address (a.k.a. URL) into one of these services, a user is presented with another, much shorter alias URL. These content-rich, character-light URLs have gained in popularity as more and more people join Twitter, which only allows 140 characters per tweet.

Tags: bitly, e-mail, email, security, spam, tinyurl, top, twitter, url shortening, UrlShortening

Web, Social Networking

U.K. Furniture Company Uses Iran to Promote Self on Twitter

by Leila Brillson — Jun 26th 2009 at 9:30AM

In what could only be described as a dumb (if not callous) move, the design-oriented, U.K.-based furniture seller Habitat decided to come to the Iran/Twitter party with hopes of peddling its wares. With hash-tags (also known as #tags) featuring 'iran' and 'mousavi' (increasingly popular as the world tries to stay abreast of the situation in Iran), Habitat did not protest brutality or election-rigging, but instead encouraged users to enter its daily sweepstakes.

Naturally, as they well should, Twitter users lambasted the company for so insensitively using the crisis in Iran for self-promotion.

Tags: advertising, greed, habitat, iran, marketing, spam, stupid, top, twitter

Cell Phones

Unsolicited Text Messages as Bad as Phone Calls, Court Says

by Terrence O'Brien — Jun 24th 2009 at 11:27AM

Court Says Texts Same as Voice Calls Under Law

Let's hope that the Simon & Schuster or marketing firm ipsh! employee who, six years ago, decided to send out thousands of unsolicited text messages reading, "the next call you take may be your last," has lost their job. If they haven't yet, then they probably will soon (assuming Simon & Schuster is forced to cough up the roughly $90 million in fines and payouts associated with the class action lawsuit it's facing for the ill-advised Stephen King promo).

In 2003, to promote the then new Stephen King novel, 'Cell,' the publisher used a list of 100,000 phone numbers collected by a third party, not involved in the case, to send the offending text message. One of the text's recipients, Laci Satterfield, filed suit on behalf of herself and 60,000 others, claiming the company violated the federal Telephone Consumer Protection Act (TCPA). The act prohibits automatic telephone dialing systems from making calls to non-consensual cell phone owners.

Tags: law, marketing, sms, spam, stephen king, StephenKing, TCPA, telemarketing, telephone consumer protection act, TelephoneConsumerProtectionAct, texting, top

Computers

12 Tips to Fight Spam on Your Computer and Cell Phone

by Warren Riddle — Jun 18th 2009 at 5:00AM

In November 2008, the McColo Corporation, a Web site hosting service favored by spammers, was shut down. Spam levels worldwide plummeted by nearly 70-percent.

But, only a few short months later, the amount of spam skyrocketed back to its normal level -- comprising an estimated 94-percent of all e-mail. Spam now plagues cell phone owners and, if your carrier charges for receiving texts, you'll be expected to pay for the unsolicited messages. As if it couldn't get worse, spam sometimes harbors viruses, trojan horses, worms, and spyware. Scary stuff. Fortunately, we've got you covered.

If you're having trouble keeping the junk out of your e-mail and texts, or if you're just sick of skimming through dozens of ads to find actual messages, check out our smorgasbord of spam fighting-tips.

Next >>

Tags: e-mail, features, phishing, spam, texting, textmessaging, top

Computers, Web

FTC Shuts Down Criminal Web Hosting Company

by Terrence O'Brien — Jun 8th 2009 at 3:19PM

The FTC and a California district court judge are doing their parts to make sure the Internet is a safer place by last week shutting down the ISP and Web-hosting company Pricewert LLC -- also known by the aliases 3FN, Triple Fiber Network, APS Telecom and APS Communications. Pricewert has made its mark in the Web site hosting world by allegedly soliciting business from and shielding criminals like spammers, and hosting malware and child pornography.

The complaint (warning: PDF) against the company charges that Pricewert ignored take-down requests, moved illegal sites to different IP addresses (Web addresses) to avoid detection, and even actively marketed their services "to domestic and overseas criminals by placing ads in the darkest corners of the Internet." According to the FTC, Pricewert servers are currently home to over 4,500 pieces of malicious software -- including spyware, viruses and worms (presumably sent out by the spammers who are hosted by Pricewert). Worse still, according to chat logs obtained by the FTC, Pricewert employees were directly involved in the configuration and design of botnets run by some of their criminal clientele.

Tags: 3fn, aps telecom, ApsTelecom, child pornography, ChildPornography, crime, ftc, government, isp, malware, pricewert, security, spam, top, web hosting, WebHosting

Advice, Editor's Picks, TV, Summer Fun, Tech Tips, Social Networking

Best of the Week: Spam, Polaroid 'Instant' Film Are Back

by Sean Captain — May 31st 2009 at 1:40PM

Even in our ever-accelerating, technologically turbulent world, we can count on some things to remain the same. Baby boomers, the generation that virtually invented short-lived trends, experienced another one with Facebook. After joining in droves last year, they started dropping from it like flies this spring. At the other end of the generational spectrum, teenagers continue to do really dumb things that get them in trouble. This time it was a texting teen who crashed her car into a cop -- on a day when she was playing hooky, no less. And, after a brief lull following the take-down of digital junkmailer McColo Corporation, spam volume has swelled back to 90 percent of all e-mail traffic. In other news...

A bunch of European chemists are trying to reverse-engineer Polaroid instant film so we can relive those instant-gratification analog days.
The Dallas Cowboys installed the world's largest TV in their galactic-sized stadium, a 60-yard-wide, 1080p video screen.
We've warned friends not to put too much money into an old PC, but a St. Louis man didn't heed that advice. When Best Buy techs opened up a computer he had dropped off for repairs, they found nearly $10,000 in cash stowed inside.
We saw what famous movie scenes would look like if they had taken place over chat programs.
A Houston TV station tested out tools to determine whether your cell phone is bugged.
We found six high-tech gadgets that do your garden work for you.
GPS tracking devices are showing up everywhere, letting you keep tabs on everyone and everything
And we tackled the thorny question of whether extended warranties for gadgets are worth the money.

Tags: bestoftheweek, cellphone, chat, facebook, film, gardening, gps, polaroid, spam, texting, top, warranty

Web, Social Networking

Phishing Scams Move From Facebook to Twitter

by Terrence O'Brien — May 28th 2009 at 6:08AM

We've seen phishing scams on Twitter before, but more attacks have recently been focused on Facebook and its massive user base. Now, though, scam artists are turning their focus full force to the microblogging service in a concerted effort to hijack accounts and spread spam.

The first part of the scam involves fake accounts (usually displaying images of attractive women) that follow tweeters. Clicking through links in the spam account lead users to a fake Twitter login page feautring the URL Tvviter.com, intended to pass for Twitter.com at a quick glance. After collecting a users' usernames and passwords, the phishers pass them back to Twitter where the duped tweeters find a host of new attractive women following them. Clicking through to links on those accounts lead users to X-rated dating sites that are undoubtedly paying the phishers for the traffic.

Tags: microblogging, phishing, scam, security, social networking, SocialNetworking, spam, top, twitter

Computers

90% of E-mail Traffic Is Still Spam

by Tim Stevens — May 27th 2009 at 5:44PM

Is your inbox a little fuller than usual, despite not having received any more genuine e-mails from friends? We know why, but you're not going to like it; according to a recent study, over 90-percent of all e-mail is now spam, a huge spike from the 20- to 30-percent mark just a few months ago.

That relative spam lull was caused by the shutdown of McColo Corporation in San Jose, California late last year. Every day, over a half-billion messages were sent from that company, and, when it was shut down, so too was shut down the majority of the world's spam traffic. But, it's spiked up again in recent months, as shown in the above chart.

The survey, courtesy of Symantec, shows a huge increase that isn't likely to drop off anytime soon. While other companies have stepped up to fill the shoes of McColo, much of this spam comes courtesy of malicious software that corrupts people's computers and turns them into spam hubs. There's not much you can do to stop the onslaught, so just make sure that you're running a spam filter. And, of course, never ever click on e-mails that look suspicious. [From: CNet]

Tags: e-mail, security, spam, symantec, top

Web

Cheap Ford Fusions E-Mail Just Another Spam Hoax

by Dan Reilly — May 18th 2009 at 11:29AM

If you recently received an e-mail offer for $15,500 2010 Ford Fusion hybrid, you can just go ahead and move that to your spam folder. The automaker is the latest company to have its name used in an spam scam and has no intentions of giving you a deal this good.

As AutoblogGreen reports, an e-mail from "Ford Motor Company" is making the rounds. The e-mail offers a deal on the popular model: "Due to the World Economy Recession, Ford Motor Company, Inc undergo a statistic fall in Sales and result in a drastic financial crisis this last season," it begins, before explaining that Ford is selling 500 Fusions at nearly half of the normal $27,270 starting price. As is the case with most spam e-mails, it includes some grammatical errors and shady attachment.

Tags: e-mail, e-mail scams, E-mailScams, ford, fusion, hoax, hoaxes, hybrid, scam, spam, top

Computers

Spam, Illustrated

by Evan Shamoon — May 17th 2009 at 11:06AM

Art director and designer Elliott Burford has found an unlikely source of inspiration for his newest work: spam e-mail.

Using spam's generally naughty, often nonsensical subject lines as his foundation, Burford illustrates such classics as "Give her the ride of her life," "Enlarge and fast," and "The best kind of natural high."

They're super-nerdy and super-awesome, and you can check out all 24 (and counting) of them on his Web site, free of charge. [From: Kottke]

Tags: art, design, e-mail, Elliot Burford, ElliotBurford, spam, top

Social Networking

Spammers' New Favorite Tool? Twitter Search (for E-Mails)

by Warren Riddle — May 15th 2009 at 7:11AM

As Twitter's renown continues to globally expand, the micro-blogging site has provided endless discussion fodder for media talking heads. Most of the commentary has revolved around celebrities' high-profile tweeting, and whether or not the site is the ultimate platform for the narcissist in all of us. One aspect of the site that is beyond debate, however, is its appeal to spammers.

According to Dancho Danchev of ZDNet, Twitter offers spammers a multitude of methods for disseminating their junk, all the while collecting e-mail addresses of unsuspecting twitterers.

Tags: e-mail, microblogging, scams, spam, top, twitter

Cell Phones

Text-Message Spam Continues to Grow Around the World

by Terrence O'Brien — May 4th 2009 at 4:39PM

According to the Observer, mobile phone owners in the U.K. are battling the latest spam scourge to sweep across the globe: SMS spam. Though not as pervasive as the e-mail variety, spam text messages usually attempt to lure people into signing up for expensive services that offer adult materials or promise cash settlements from accidents. The problem has been pervasive for over a year in places like China, and it's recently become a big enough problem in the States that the U.S. Senate last month proposed legislation to ban text-message spam.

Unfortunately, text-message spam doesn't stop unless the recipient actively opts out of future correspondence, which means replying to the original spam text (something that can cost around $0.15 per message if you don't have a texting plan). For those receiving the messages, however, there are avenues of recourse. The New York Times recently explained how to block such texts through your mobile carrier (usually something as simple as checking a few boxes online). If you're one of our British readers, you can file a complaint with the Information Commissioner's Office (ICO), which regulates electronic data privacy. The U.K.'s Advertising Standards Authority (ASA) will meanwhile handle complaints of misleading or false advertising.

Other than filing complaints with the proper authorities, the best course of action is to ignore the spam texts. After all, there is no guarantee that requesting your removal from a text-messaging list will work. In fact, the misleading nature of the texts may lead you to believe you're opting out when you're actually signing up for unwanted, expensive services. [From: Observer, via Textually.org]

Tags: scams, security, spam, text-message spam, Text-messageSpam, texting, textmessagespam, top, uk

Web

Swine Flu Hoaxes Abound via E-Mail Spam

by Chad Mumm — Apr 28th 2009 at 12:53PM

We've been keeping a close eye on this ongoing Swine Flu "pandemic," if mostly just to gawk at CNN medical correspondent Sanjay Gupta as he barrels around Mexico City doing his best to look like a post-apocalyptic hero. Of course, if Swine Flu cases were proportional to the amount of media coverage the health-scare has been getting, we might actually have something to worry about. But you probably shouldn't be skipping work and stockpiling respiratory masks just yet.

It should come as no surprise that spammers have already jumped onto the Swine Flu bandwagon. Security firm McAfee reported on its blog yesterday that Swine Flu medication spam is already making its way to your inbox, playing the Hollywood name game in its bid to move flu remedies and prescription pills for less. That means you can be on the lookout for e-mails with subjects like "Madonna caught swine flu," or "Swine flu in Hollywood." Domain name registrations mentioning the word 'swine' are also way up, according to McAfee, so be wary of hackers looking to exploit the panicked masses through fake Swine Flu info sites.

Tags: breaking news, BreakingNews, e-mail, hack, hoaxes, mcafee, panic, security, spam, swine flu, SwineFlu, top

Web

Microsoft Says 97% of All E-mail Is Spam

by Peter Mychalcewycz — Apr 12th 2009 at 3:34PM

Katie, bar the door! By Microsoft's count, spam accounts for 97-percent of all e-mail! This is up from the 94-percent figure given recently by the New York Times, but we still couldn't be less surprised.

This annoying news comes from a new security report issued by Microsoft. The biggest culprit, as usual, was pharmaceutical companies, whose unwanted crap mail was responsible for nearly half of all detected spam.

Microsoft's findings differed from other firms, though, which found spam percentages to be significantly lower. Security company MessageLabs Intelligence found that spam accounted for about 75-percent of all e-mail for the month of January. It's true that spam numbers dropped when known spammer McColo Corporation went under in November 2008, but it appears that the aggravating practice has rebounded.

Whatever the real percentage is, it's absurdly high. Now excuse us while we reply to an email from John, who swears he has just found the best male enhancement pill ever.

Sweet. [From ArsTechnica]

Related Links:

Tags: e-mail, microsoft, spam, studies, surveys, web

Computers, Web

Spam Recovers, Now 94% of All E-Mail Once Again

by Evan Shamoon — Apr 1st 2009 at 10:12AM

While always-improving filters from the likes of Google and Microsoft have certainly slowed the rate at which spam invades our lives, those pesky, malicious e-mails aren't going away any time soon.

In November of 2008, spam took a hit when Internet providers severed connections with McColo Corporation, a California-based Web hosting service that many spammers were using for their spammy ways. Adam Swidler, who is the product marketing manager for Postini Services, an anti-spam company owned by search giant Google, told the New York Times: "By far, it was the most dramatic event we have ever seen." Reports had spam levels down as much as 70-percent after the incident.

Now, just months later, spam is back to making up around 94-percent of all e-mail, having increased at an estimated rate of 1.2-percent each day. "What the spammers have been using to rebuild is more technically advanced than what got taken out and is itself a more resilient technology," Mr. Swidler told the paper. "It's unlikely we are going to see another event like McColo where taking out an ISP has that kind of dramatic impact on global spam volumes."

Tags: e-mail, security, spam, virus, web

Most Emailed Stories

Editors' Picks

Weirdest Techie Heists and Scams

Elderly Amish Man Caught on Film With Prostitute, Blackmailed
When a 75-year-old Amish widower slept with a prostitute, he -- we feel certain -- felt pretty bad about it the next morning. As if that guilt weren't enough for the old man, the prostitute and her boyfriend demanded $67,000 from him, claiming that they had filmed the scene with wall-mounted cameras and would upload the recording to the Internet. The pair was later arrested and, we can only imagine, the Amish man abhorred technology more than ever.

Bank Robber Gets Away With the Help of Craiglist
In October, a bank robber -- wearing a safety vest, blue shirt, face mask and goggles -- eluded police with the help of Craiglist. Just outside the bank, while the robbery was in progress, stood a group of men who were responding to a Craiglist day labor opportunity. As the advertisement required, they were all wearing safety vests, blue shirts, face masks and goggles.

Nude New Zealander Arrested After Responding to Fake Sexy Text Message
Late in 2007, a Wellington, New Zealand man received a racy text message from two anonymous "ladies," giving him only an address and a request that he show up naked. Well, he indeed showed up naked... at the home of one appalled, unsuspecting New Zealander. Both the nude Romeo and the sadistic texter were arrested, though neither were prosecuted.

Fake Craiglist Ad Costs Man Most of What He Owns
Last Spring, a post appeared on an Oregon Craigslist board stating that the owner of a specific house was leaving all of his worldly possessions (still in said house) to whoever wanted them. When homeowner Robert Salisbury rushed home -- on a tip from a woman suspicious about the offer of a free horse -- he found his house being ransacked by 30 strangers. We suggest he take that horse and collect some vengeance Clint Eastwood-style.

17-Year-Old Jailed for Stealing Virtual 'Furniture'
When a 17-year-old Dutch boy hacked into several accounts on the Second Life-style site 'Habbo' in 2007, the the law got involved. The boy was discovered to have stolen $5,800 worth of virtual furniture and knick-knacks. Apparently, crime -- whether actual or virtual -- does not pay.

Phishers Going After Your Phones in New 'Vishing' Trend
Over the past year, sneaky spammers have begun to forsake the worn-out territory of e-mail in favor of cell phones' fertile frontier. The result? "Vishing." Get it? Voice mail phishing. It might be more ominous if it didn't sound like a James Bond villain saying, "Wishing."

Burglars Break Into Restaurant, Steal HDTV, Leave Money / Food Behind
Around Halloween of last year, a truckload of thieves drove into -- that's right, into -- a Pennsylvania Mexican restaurant, where they -- apparently uninterested in the cash register -- stole a mid-grade 47-inch HDTV and fled the scene. We've all heard about how this generation is lacking in ambition, but this generation's thieves, too?

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